American Sniper... Who's seen it?

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

The final scene where he playfully points the revolver at his wife is pretty hard to believe.

Agreed. I wonder if Mrs. Kyle authenticated that or not. I don't know any gun owners who would point a firearm as a joke - but you never know. Perhaps someone like Kyle, a multiple tour sniper, was overly confident and actually pulled that ill advised stunt off.

As for the movie we came away liking it but not in a way that would draw me back to watch it again. I agree with how Cooper explains it - it's not a war movie but instead a character study. For the most part Kyle was portrayed as a person who did not believe in showing emotion - very little in the way of facial expressions that had meaning (except for a couple key scenes). Not normal for a Hollywood movie so IMO the acting was very dry. Not sure I would call it an Oscar performance on any level.

[BeyGon]

Originally Posted by jyl

I doubt 1 of 100 Americans recognize the name Chris Kyle.

And I doubt any president would mention Kim what's her face in a State of The Union address or any other formal speech.

Maybe if he had mentioned an American Service Hero more people would have known him. Today everyone knows who Chris Kyle was and they know he didn't respect him.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

everyone knows who Chris Kyle was

You really need to get out more.

[creaturecat]

Seems like two thumbs up. I haven't seen it yet.
How about some insight as to why?
Story line
Crafting of the movie, ie production values, etc.
Acting
Pure blood lust
The mechanics of the firepower.
Reciprocity.
Patriotism.
Reinforcement of the collective ego.
Probably a combination, I dunno.

No offence meant or implied.

[vash]

decent movie. the lady playing the wife was hot!! but i digress.

that kid with the grenade..i dont know why the sniper just didnt say.."hey, you in the humvee..look to your right (no!!! your other right!!!"..

..i liked the film.

[pavulon]

Isn't the veracity if Chris Kyle taking some heat these days??

[craigster59]

I worked on the film for a bit. Clint is a very good director, with one the best, easygoing sets you could ever work on. BC was a little intense and preferred to stay in character when the cameras weren't rolling to keep his PTSD intensity up. And no real babies on set, silicone and robotic that we rented from here Creative Character Engineering :: Animatronic Baby Gallery a little more than just dolls as reported in the media.

But all in all, it's just a movie, a vehicle for entertainment. People talk about authenticity, reality, truth to fact, etc. It's a movie not a documentary, the press should quit treating it as such. I mean hey, where were the scenes of JFK bangin' Marilyn Monroe in "Missles In October"?

[Tobra]

Marine Snipers are really something. My office manager in Texas told me they recalled her brother who had been out of the USMC a few years when 9/11 happened. They went to his job, told him to be ready to go in 3 days. Boxed up the stuff in his apartment, gave his dog to a friend and he was on a plane to A-stan by the end of the week. They said something about the "good of the service." Apparently, if they need you, part of your enlistment stuff you sign says you are going with them. I hope for Hugh's sake they don't want to make any movies in BF-istan

Angela said he was a crazy good shot with just about anything, but especially a rifle. They needed guys and he already had the training.

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Hijack alert....Go see Unbroken. I don't know how much "license" was taken with the story but if half of it is accurate you will be humbled.

Chose "Unbroken" over 'sniper' this past weekend. Very good, and as an aviation history nut they did a good job with the computer-generated flying scenes and used accurate radial engine sounds for the planes. Two thumbs up.

As for 'sniper,' this is Clint doing what he does best and that's rallying conservatives. He famously did it with "Dirty Harry," which riled liberals back in 1971 and he's succeeded with 'sniper' as it has out-grossed just about everything out there. With both Harry Callaghan and the sniper Eastwood is telling you that it's not always wrong to kill certain people in cold blood (Dirty Harry and 'sniper') and without due process (Dirty Harry). That message resonates very well with conservatives and the box office proves it.

[craigster59]

I do have to say, I experienced a bit of the AS phenomenon this weekend. I had taken a few spoons over to Oak Tree Gun Club, just 10 minutes down the road from the house (we've done some Pelican get togethers there before), for some sighting in and zeroing.

Now, it's not usually crowded on the rifle range, but can get busy with skeet and trap. This was Saturday around noon, and I walked up the path to the range. They rent AR's and various other configurations of semi-auto military style weapons. There must have been 10-12 groups of 18-25 y.o. waiting to try their sniper skills on the range. The wait was 2-3 hours for an open spot. I ended up schlepping my stuff a half hour to Piru just to get some range time.

[Crowbob]

Good film. Mostly a character study. Pretty much what you'd expect from Clint Eastwood. Definitely not movie of the year. Worthwhile seeing to get a feel for urban combat, etc.

The scene at the end with the revolver was not credible to me. However, I think the point trying to be made was how comfortable and casual Kyle's family is/was with firearms especially with a guy who may have been demonstrating PTSD. Eastwood did make the added point of Kyle leaving the gun out of reach of the kids which seemed incongruous to the gunplay. I think the abrupt ending was a negative but may have been a 1) cinematic trick for effect or 2) a compromised decision to keep the film from being too long.

I think it was technically very well done (as to be expected from Eastwood) but there was nothing truly outstanding, film-wise. Good character development with Kyle. The bravery and commitment of the warriors definitely came through. All in all, I think it is being over-hyped. Patriots should see it to send a message to Hollywood.

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Marine Snipers are really something.

A high school friend of mine went into the Marines. He deployed to Panama as a scout sniper. Afterward, he had a lot of problems with alcohol and self destructive behaviour. I never thought of PTSD back then... just thought it was bad decision making skills on his part.

edit: I removed the details about his personal life. No need for that.
Suffice to say that he did get clean and sober.

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Seems like two thumbs up.
How about some insight as to why?

I liked the movie because I thought it was a well told story. I thought it had a good balance of action and drama.

I liked that it was not an "invincible flag waving patriot" movie. I like that it showed war does affect people on a personal level, that taking a life changes people, and that Rambo exists only in Hollywood.

I'm sorry, but I completely missed the "not always wrong to kill certain people in cold blood and without due process" message. I thought every war was about killing people, and did not realize that war was in need of Clint Eastwood as a banner carrier. I saw this film strictly as a PTSD message, not a battle cry.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Isn't the veracity if Chris Kyle taking some heat these days??

There was the heady allegations made pre-book which led to this:
Jesse Ventura wins $1.8 million in damages against Chris Kyle, slain Navy SEAL sniper - The Washington Post
The award includes $500,000 in defamation damages and $1.345 million for “unjust enrichment,”

» Jesse Ventura Gets Backing Of Former SEALs In Lawsuit Over “Punch” Hoax Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
Shortly after the controversy erupted at the beginning of the year, Ventura told Infowars that he thought the story may have been concocted for the additional reason of discrediting him politically because of his vehement support for Ron Paul and his crusade against the TSA.

[sammyg2]

I haven't seen it yet but have heard only positive from those who have.

[craigster59]

$200 million so far at the box office. Criticize him all you want, Clint has made a film that people actually want to go out and see.

[nostatic]

I won't see it. We deal with the real versions of some of the themes at work and don't really need it in my entertainment.

We did go see Whiplash though. A few surprising twists especially at the end. Some of the same criticisms being offered in this thread - some parts not believable and a lot of artistic license. But that's the way movies are.

[cairns]

Haven't seen it but plan to. I've never seen a bad Eastwood movie and can't imagine this one would be. Funny to me that this one is doing so much better (and getting so much more political attention) than Hurt Locker or Black Hawk Down- both good movies (I believe) of similar genre.

[BeyGon]

I liked the movie because the character seriously believed in saving lives of his fellows, it was the way he grew up, to protect people, it was the way he lived his life and once he finally got and got things sorted out, he was helping vets get on with their lives. If he was truly like the character in the movie he was a very good guy.

[varmint]

spoiler alert.....





question, the team has taken over some iraqi families apartment, and they're all sitting down to dinner. something tips kyle off that the man has weapons hidden. i din't get what it was. the elbows? if so, why?

[Reiver]

Because he had similar elbows from laying on them in the prone position in his hide site.